Case Digest (G.R. No. 79956) Core Legal Reasoning Model
Core Legal Reasoning Model
Facts:
In Cordillera Broad Coalition v. Commission on Audit (G.R. Nos. 79956 & 82217, January 29, 1990, 260 Phil. 528, En Banc), petitioners challenged the constitutionality of Executive Order No. 220, signed by President Corazon Aquino on July 15, 1987, which created the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR). The CAR comprised the provinces of Abra, Benguet, Ifugao, Kalinga-Apayao, Mountain Province and the City of Baguio, with the aim of coordinating planning and implementation of national and local programs pending the establishment of an autonomous regional government. Historically, the order emerged from peace negotiations with the Cordillera People’s Liberation Army led by Fr. Conrado Balweg, beginning with a ceasefire on September 13, 1986 at Mount Data and culminating in a March 27, 1987 agreement to draft a preparatory body for autonomy. Petitioners—composed of civil society groups, local officials (Lilia Yaranon, Bona Bautista, James Brett, Sinai Hamada) and their spouses—as Case Digest (G.R. No. 79956) Expanded Legal Reasoning Model
Expanded Legal Reasoning Model
Facts:
- Parties and petitions
- Cordillera Broad Coalition and various petitioners (including Yaranon, Bautista, Brett, Hamada) challenged the constitutionality of Executive Order No. 220, dated July 15, 1987.
- They alleged that E.O. 220 pre-empts Congress’s duty to enact an organic act and to create an autonomous region in the Cordilleras only after a plebiscite.
- Constitutional framework
- 1987 Constitution, Article X, §§ 15–21, mandates the creation of autonomous regions in Muslim Mindanao and the Cordilleras through:
- An organic act enacted by the first Congress within 18 months of organization;
- Approval in a plebiscite by constituent units.
- Historical background and negotiations
- In April 1986, Fr. Conrado Balweg and the Cordillera People’s Liberation Army (CPLA) broke from the CPP–NPA on ideological grounds.
- On September 13, 1986, President Aquino and CPLA leaders signed a Mt. Data ceasefire agreement, agreeing to pursue Cordillera autonomy by peaceful, political means.
- On March 27, 1987, a joint government–Cordillera panel agreement provided for drafting an executive order to create a preparatory body for a future organic act.
- Executive Order No. 220
- Exercising her residual legislative power (Art. XVIII, § 6), President Aquino created the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR), covering Abra, Benguet, Ifugao, Kalinga-Apayao, Mountain Province, and Baguio City.
- Objectives: accelerate economic and social growth; coordinate planning and implementation of national and local programs; prepare for an autonomous regional government.
- Institutions created:
- Cordillera Regional Assembly (policy-formulating, convening annually for a five-day session).
- Cordillera Executive Board (implementing arm, composed of local executives, CPLA representatives, ethno-linguistic groups, NGOs, and ex-officio national department heads).
- Transitory nature: existing until an organic act is ratified.
- Subsequent legislation
- Republic Act No. 6658 (1988): established the Cordillera Regional Consultative Commission to assist Congress in drafting the organic act.
- Republic Act No. 6766 (1989): the Organic Act for the Cordillera Autonomous Region; acknowledges CAR offices and provides that they “shall cease to exist immediately upon the ratification” of the organic act.
Issues:
- Principal Issue
- Does E.O. 220 unconstitutionally pre-empt Congress’s exclusive authority to enact an organic act and to create the autonomous Cordillera Region only after a plebiscite (Art. X, § 18)?
- Territorial and political subdivision
- Does E.O. 220 unlawfully create a new territorial and political subdivision without complying with constitutional criteria and plebiscite requirements (Art. X, §§ 1, 10)?
- Local autonomy
- Does the creation of CAR impair the administrative autonomy of the component provinces and city guaranteed by Art. X, § 2?
Ruling:
- (Subscriber-Only)
Ratio:
- (Subscriber-Only)
Doctrine:
- (Subscriber-Only)